OR26-1 Alternative Polyadenylation as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of male cancer death in the United States. While localized disease can be cured by radiation or surgery, metastatic prostate cancer presents a clinical challenge. Metastatic prostate cancer can initially be controlled by endocrine therapies that target the androgen receptor (AR), however, these tumors will inevitably develop resistance. This stage of the disease, termed castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), is responsible for the majority of prostate cancer-specific deaths. Truncated AR variant (AR-V) proteins are broadly enriched in CRPC cell lines and clinical samples, and can function as ligand-independent, constitutively active transcription factors. We found that blocking an alternative poly(A) site located in AR intron 3 reduced expression of multiple AR-V mRNA and protein species and increased expression of full-length (FL) AR mRNA and protein in 22Rv1 and LNCaP95 CRPC cells. We found the cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) component, CPSF1, regulates selection of this alternative poly(A) site based on the finding that knockdown of CPSF1 also reduced expression of AR-Vs and increased expression of FL-AR in 22Rv1 and LNCaP95 cells. Further, knockdown of CPSF1 inhibited growth of these CRPC cell lines, as well as androgen-dependent LNCaP cells. To define how CPSF1 regulates alternative polyadenylation of AR and to determine novel pathways that are manipulated by CPSF1 in prostate cancer, we identified CPSF1-dependent gene expression using RNA-seq and CPSF1-dependent poly(A) site usage using poly(A)-ClickSeq (PAC-Seq). Gene set enrichment analysis of RNA-seq data revealed the Glycolysis Hallmark gene was positively regulated by CPSF1, and nominated multiple differentially-expressed genes encoding regulators of glycolysis as CPSF1 targets. These results highlight AR independent pathways that are also regulated by CPSF1 in prostate cancer. We are currently integrating RNA-Seq and PAC-seq datasets to define novel CPSF1 regulated pathways that can be targeted therapeutically in prostate cancer. This research will determine trans-acting factors and cis-regulatory elements that drive alternative polyadenylation of AR mRNA transcripts to promote CRPC progression. This research will also identify AR independent targets of CPSF1 that could be exploited for development of new therapies for CRPC. Presentation: Monday, June 13, 2022 11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.